Galaxy Garden / Lone

Consciously or subconsciously, it is always enticing to hear music that is intricate to the core yet rudimentary at first listen. In his new album Galaxy Garden, Lone piles on rhythms and sounds of all sorts without having the tracks feel cumbersome. It possesses some of the genius layering elements that Aphex Twin displays in Drukqs with the tasteful blending and harmonization that Baths exhibits in Cerulean. Because of this, every track on the album feels wholesome and colorful. Lone displays innovation with his adroit style from beginning to end.

The upbeat tempos, emphasis on drums, high pitched leads, and undertone of wavering chord changes stay constant in most every track but the versatile instrument sounds give each individual track a distinct and exotic feeling. In As a Child, there is a chest-hitting Hudson Mohawke-esque drum loop that drives the track but also layered on top is acoustic guitar fingerpicking, a multitude of auxiliary percussion (including steel drum and triangle), a quivering synth, and a harmonizing male voice. The lordly mix is thought-out from head to toe; nothing falls through the cracks.

What makes the album even more ingenious is the juxtaposition of modern and retro electronic sounds. Many of the synth sounds are evocative of ’90s-style techno while simultaneously accompanied by new-age polished snares and bass style drum hits. This is clearly demonstrated in the track Crystal Caverns 1991, which sounds like it could easily be heard in the background of an old James Bond chase scene or in a prominent modern nightclub.

The album helps to show maximalist electronic, nu-rave music did not get pigeonholed. And thanks to artists like Lone and Rustie (with his Glass Swords release in October of 2011), electronic maximalism has greatly expanded.

–@julianrome

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